Supporting and lid operating means for refuse receptacles



March 4, 1941.

C. A. P INES SUPPORTING AND LID OPERATING MEANS FOR REFUSE RECEPTACLES Filed May 22, 19:59

w TN ESS Patented Mar. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SUPPORTING AND LID OPERATING MEANS FOR REFUSE RECEPTACLES This invention relates to refuse receptacles such as garbage cans, trash cans and the like adapted for use in domestic surroundings' as repositories for waste materials and is particularly directed to means for enhancing the convenience and accessibility of such receptacles While minimizing the inconvenience usually associated with their presence in domestic kitchens and generally com'- parable places.

Refuse receptacles of the type used in domestic kitchens and the like have heretofore sometimes embodied closures adapted to open automatically upon operation of a foot treadle or the like but so far as I am aware it has heretofore been impossible to conveniently employ receptacles of this type Aexcept wherethey may be kept at a'place providing sufficient space above them to permit the closure to be fully opened when desired and this has therefore usually resulted in `their being placed on the floor of a room, where they constitute obstructions to passage over and/or other normal use of the floor space they occupy.

It is therefore a principal object of this inven tion to provide a refuse receptacle in combination 25 with means whereby the receptacle may be normally kept in an out of the way position, as in the recess formed by a kitchen cabinet compartment or the like, when not required for use, and automatically projected therefrom for receiving refuse or other purposes and the receptacle closure automatically opened simultaneously with projection of the receptacle from its normally retracted position.

A further object is to provide mechanism of this character in which the force of gravity is utilized to project the receptacle from its recess and in which releasable means are provided for holding the receptacle in the recess against the force of gravity when not in use together with means for imparting an initial impetus to the receptacle on operation of said releasable means to overcome the inertia of the receptacle and enable the force of gravity to bring it quickly and automatically to position for use.

Another object is to provide in combination with such mechanism means for automatically opening the closure of the receptacle during projection of the latter toward said position.

Other objects, purposes, and advantages of the 59 invention will hereinafter more fully appear orkIn the said drawing horizontal stationary part.

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a kitchen' cabinet of a common type in which mechanism embodying my invention is installed, the receptacle and its supporting slide being shown in re` tracted position in this figure.

Fig. 2 is a somewhat similar view showing the receptacle and its slide projected from the recess in which it is normally disposed and prepared for the reception of refuse or the like due to the automatic opening ofits closure.

Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary vertical sections of the said mechanism in the positions respectively shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation thereof, the line 3-3 therein indicating generally the plane of section of Figs. 3 and 4.

In the several i'lgureslike characters are used to designate the same parts.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, showing a kitchen cabinet C which in itself forms no part of the invention but lis merely illustrativey of a well known type of cabinet with which mechanism embodying the invention may conveniently be associated, it will be understoo'd'the mechanism is adapted for association and combination with any other suitable article of furniture or the like providing a space for it-beneath a substantially Said mechanism thus normally maintains a refuse receptacle I retracted into such space with its hinged closure or lid 2 connected tolthe'horizontal part, such as the lintel c of the cabinet compartment opening, byV a preferably non-'stretchable link '3, loosely connected by brackets 4, 5 respectively to the lintel c and to the receptacle lid 2 at a point di- -ametrically opposite the hinge 6 by which the lid is fastened to the receptacle.

lThe receptacle l, within which a removable liner (not shown) may be positioned if desired, is supportedl on a movable slide 1 disposed at a small anglefto the horizontal and the receptacle is held upright thereon by a wedge-shaped plate 8 which affords a substantially horizontal base for the receptacle andV compensates for the angularity of the slide. Cleats 9 are disposed at sp-aced points around the base-of the receptacle to prevent it from slipping from the slide but permit it to be lifted therefrom when desired.

The angularity at which the slide is supported is of course a matter of choice, but is preferably sufcient to cause it to move freely by gravity outwardly from the recess in which it isvnormally disposed, although as will hereinafter appear, means are provided forv initially overcoming its inertia when released for outward movement so that its gravitational'movement can begin sub'- stantially immediately upon such release. The slide is supported for reciprocatory movement on pairs of antifriction rollers I0 under its lateral edges and additional similar rollers II engaging its upper edges prevent it from tipping and these rollers are carried by the side panels I4, I5 of a main supporting frame I6 which rests on the :door of the cabinet compartment. The upper rollers II are preferably positioned adjacent the outer extremity ofthe path of movement of a transverse cleat Il which extends across the rear part of the slide, and thus afford a positive stop to prevent the slide from moving too far out of its recess.

A second transverse cleat I8 on the under side of the slide carries a bracket I9 to which a compression spring 20 is attached at substantially its mid point so that the front portion of the spring forms a cushion stop for the slide which normally comes into'play before the rollers I I are engaged by the cleat I1 to gradually stop the normal outward movement of. the slide and receptacle by engagement with the inner face of a cross bar 2.I at the front of the main supporting frame. The opposite end of the spring projects rearwardly substantially parallel to and slightly beyond the back end of the slide and is thus' adapted to be slightly compressed between the bracket and the inner face of the back wall b of the recess as the slide is pushed to retracted position, the spring when so compressed providing, upon release of the slide from said position, an initial impetus suiiicient to overcome its inertia and cause it to move by gravity downward and outward and thus bring the receptacle to accessible position for use.

The rear ends of the side panels I4 and I5 of the main frame are secured together by a transverse cleat 22 beneath the frame and of sufficient vertical height to afford the desired slope to the L frame when it is positioned on a horizontal floor,Y

while an upper transverse rear cleat 23 also assists in holding the panels together and insures substantial rigidity of the frame as a whole. It will be understood, however, that the structural members of the frame, slide and other parts may be made in any suitable way and while in the embodiment of the invention illustrated vwood actuated detent 26 supported from the cabinet` floor on a spring hinge 21 and extending through' a slot 29 in the adjacent side panel of the main frame, the slide being held retracted by engagement of the detent in the notch. It is thus adapted for convenient release upon foot operation of the detent toallow the spring 23, compressed against the back wall of the recess, as shown in Fig. 3, to come into play to overcome the inertia of the slide and vinitiate its forward and downward movement, which the force of gravity causes to continue until the opposite end of the spring engages the inner face of the cross bar ZI at the front of the main frame to graduyally bring the slide and hence the receptacle to rest with the receptacle in an accessibleposition outside of the recess. Y

During this movement Vlink 3 retains the outer edge of the lid at a xed distance from lintel'c although permitting the point on the lid to which it is connected to move in an arc of a circle of which the connection of the link with the lintel is the center and the lid therefore automatically rises on its hinge so that when the receptacle has reached the limit of its outward movement the lid is substantially fully open, thus affording convenient access to the interior of the receptacle.

When the slide and receptacle are thereafter returned to retracted position, as by pushing the slide inwardly with the foot, the lid normally closes by force of gravity, but the link may if desired be a relatively rigid one, such as a metal rod pivoted to the lid and cabinet and the lid thereby closed somewhat more quickly and positively then if it is merely allowed to fall by gravity during rapid return of the receptacle and slide to retracted position, the detent automatically reentering` notch 25 in the slide to releasably hold it in said position.

While I have herein shown and described an embodiment of the invention in which the several parts are more or less conventional as to structure as well as in the materials used, this will be understood as merely for convenience and to facilitate an understanding of the invention and without restricting or conning the latter thereto in any way as its principles may be embodied in differently constructed mechanism and/or different materials may be employed and these and other changes and modifications of the form, structure and arrangement of the various parts as will readily occur to those skilled in the art, may be made if desired without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States: f

1. Operating and supporting means for a ref use receptacle comprising a frame, anti-friction means carried thereby affording inclined substantially parallel ways, a slide movable in said ways having a detent receiving notch adjacent one of its ends and including receptacle receiving means, a receptacle received thereby having a hinged top closure, a spring pressed detent carried by the frame and releaseably engaged in said notch when the slide and receptacle are in one position, means extending from the receptacle closure to a fixed support adapted to raise said closure about its hinger when the receptacle is moved with the slide to another position after disengagement of the detent from said notch, yielding means carried by the slide adapted to engage the frame during said movement to thereby gradually bring the slide to rest at the limit of said movement and an abutment disposed adjacent the limit of movement of the slide in the opposite direction adapted to be engaged by said yielding means when the slide is moved in said opposite direction toward position for en`` gagement of said detent in said notch whereby when the detent is entered in the notch said yielding means is maintained under compression.

2. In means for supporting and operating a refuse receptacle having a hinged top closure, a frame, a movable slide, anti-friction means carried by the frame embracing the slide and supporting it from the frame at an angle to the horizontal, the slide having a notch in an edge of one of its sides, a spring pressed detent engageable in said notch to hold the slide in one position in `the frame, yielding means carried by theA slide and engageable with the frame at the limits of travel of the slide to cushion termination of its movement in opposite directions, said yielding means storing energy when the slide is at one of said limits and said detent is engaged in said notch to thereby overcome inertia of the slide When the detent is retracted from the notch, the force of gravity then operating to move the slide relatively to said anti-friction means to another position, means carried by the slide for receiving the receptacle and holding it thereon against relative lateral movement, and flexible tension means interconnected with a xed support and said top closure operative to move said closure on its hinge during gravitational movement of the receptacle with the slide, said tension means being inoperative to move the closure during movement of the receptacle and slide in the opposite direction, the closure being movable on its hinge CHARLES A. PINES. 

